Annual contribution of NIMASA to federation account surges to N20bn

There are indications that a financial re-engineering has taken place at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), resulting in a revenue surge. An official communication from the Agency yesterday says that its remittances to the federation account has hit N20 billion, representing a massive 567 percent jump in 2017 from N3 billion previously. In a statement signed by Head, Corporate Communications, NIMASA, Mr. Isichei Osamgbi, the Agency said it has become one of the leading parastatals of the federal government on account of its huge contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). “NIMASA has transformed from contributing barely N3billion to over N20billion annually to the CRF and it will keep getting better,” the statement noted. The development was attributed to measures adopted by the agency to block financial leakages alongside the Treasury Single Account (TSA). The statement quoted Dr. Dakuku Peterside, NIMASA’s Director-General, as saying: “In order to block financial leakages, we subscribed to a full bouquet of the Lloyds and Clarkson intelligence; this made it almost impossible for any vessel calling at our ports to escape or under declare; the TSA and our collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service among other agencies also played an important role.” Peterside also restated NIMASA’s commitment to growing indigenous capacity in the sector, noting that the engagement currently taking place between the Agency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was aimed at securing intervention funds for vessel acquisition and other ancillary transactions in the sector at special interest rates. He added that everything was geared towards improving the Cabotage regime and the realisation of a robust maritime sector. The NIMASA’s boss declared that the Association of African Maritime Administration under his leadership as the chairman has prioritised projecting Africa as a bloc deserving a larger share of global maritime trade, based on its contributions. “Some African countries still operate along colonial inclination and that tends to slow down development particularly in the maritime sector. In those countries where democracy is fully thriving such as Nigeria, stakeholders in the maritime sector now speak with the voice of development, independent of colonial masters. “AAMA (Association of African Maritime Administrators), under my watch, has been able to give African maritime sector a new voice, particularly at the International Maritime Organization,” he stated.